This invention generally relates to a beverage maker and method of making beverage by passing hot water through a dry ingredient, such as ground coffee or tea and, specifically, to a semiautomatic beverage maker of this type and method of using same.
In the parent application of which this is a continuation-in-part, an automatic beverage maker is disclosed in which an electric motor is used to open and close a dispenser valve respectively in response to actuation of a start switch and lapse of a preselected brew period measured by a timer. In addition, a stop switch is provided to cause the motor to move the valve to a closed position before automatic closure at the lapse of the brew period. Other automatic beverage makers are known in which the dispenser valve is automatically caused to both open and close through selective energization and de-energization of an electromechanical valve drive mechanism in response to manual switch actuation. Examples of such automatic beverage makers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,471 issued Sep. 28, 1971 to Martin and 3,998,144 issued Dec. 21, 1976, to Curtis.
While this is a perfectly acceptable and successful system for automatically operating a beverage maker, it still has certain disadvantages. First, it requires a motor to both open and close the valve and a stop switch which significantly adds to the cost of the apparatus. In addition, lights or other special indicators and associated circuitry are often required to indirectly provide a visual indication of the status of the dispenser valve which also adds to the costs. These additional parts, Of course, also contribute to the complexity of the apparatus and thereby reduce its reliability and increase the cost of equipment maintenance.
Another disadvantage of known automatic beverage makers is that when the dispenser valve is open and hot water is flowing, there is nothing to prevent removal of the ingredient holder which funnels the water to an urn from its normal position for collecting the water therein. As a result, a dangerous condition can result in which hot scalding water freely flows from the beverage maker and outside of the confines of an urn because of removal of the ingredient holder during the brew cycle.